What Kids Don’t Know About Knives Could Hurt Them More Than the Knife

Why our approach to knife safety is backfiring—and what we should be teaching instead.

Every week, I meet 12-year-olds who’ve never held a kitchen knife. Not once. As a Scout leader, that blows my mind.

We’re raising a generation terrified of tools—and it's not making them safer. It's making them vulnerable.

Knife crime continues to dominate headlines in the UK. It’s tragic, frightening, and understandably high on the political agenda. In response, governments have steadily tightened laws around knife possession. The logic is simple: stricter laws should lead to fewer crimes.

And yet, knife crime is rising.

According to the Office for National Statistics, England and Wales saw 50,510 knife-related offences in the year ending March 2024—a 7% increase from the year before. The West Midlands now holds the highest knife crime rate in the country at 180 offences per 100,000 people, surpassing even London.

So what the hell is going on?

We’ve Changed the Meaning of a Knife

To understand this paradox, we need to take a step back and look at how we frame knives in society. These are among humanity’s oldest and most essential tools. Used in kitchens, trades, camping, carving—they’ve been helping us survive and build for millennia.

But over the past few generations, we’ve rewritten what a knife means, especially to young people.

Parents constantly warn:

"Be careful, knives are dangerous. People get hurt."

And while that’s technically true, the message often lacks balance. What children learn isn't just caution—they learn fear. Knives are rarely introduced as practical, everyday tools. They’re treated with a mix of alarm and taboo.

Over time, that builds a distorted perception. Instead of being shown how to use a knife responsibly, kids are told to avoid them entirely. But avoidance isn't education—and ignorance is more dangerous than the tool itself.

Firsthand Experience: Fear Over Function

As a Scout leader and knife skills instructor, I see the effects of this fear-based messaging regularly. I meet 11-15-year-olds who have never even held a kitchen knife. Not because of disinterest—but because their parents are afraid they’ll hurt themselves.

It’s hard to overstate how bizarre this is. These are smart, capable young people who will be off to college or university in just a few years—expected to cook, feed themselves, and live independently. And yet they’ve been denied even the most basic hands-on experience with a kitchen essential.

Parents worry about cuts—but in trying to prevent a minor injury, they’re increasing the risk of long-term helplessness. We don’t keep kids away from bicycles because they might fall—we teach them how to ride.

The same logic should apply to tools like knives.

Legislation Without Logic

The UK’s legal response to knife crime has been to crack down harder and harder on possession. The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 introduced Knife Crime Prevention Orders, home delivery bans, and stricter rules on even common folding blades.

But here's the thing: these laws overwhelmingly only affect law-abiding people—tradespeople, bush crafters, chefs old men with a Swiss army knife, and even young learners using knives appropriately. They do little to nothing deter to actual criminals, who already operate outside the law.

More frustratingly, many of these policies focus more on what’s in your pocket than what’s in your heart. A teenager caught with a multitool might face more legal trouble than someone who randomly punches another person in the street. That’s not justice—it’s misdirection.

What we need is less focus on possession and more focus on intent and action.

We Need a Cultural Shift

We’ve created a cycle:

• We teach kids that knives are dangerous.

• They internalize that message and grow up afraid of or fascinated by them.

• Some begin using them irresponsibly or violently.

• Society reacts with fear, stigma, and stricter laws.

• And the cycle continues.

But we can break that cycle.

What if, instead of fear, we taught respect?
What if children were taught to safely handle tools from an early age, with proper guidance and supervision?
What if we emphasized moral grounding, real-world responsibility, and practical skills, rather than just warning signs and legal threats?

Children who are taught values—compassion, responsibility, empathy—are far less likely to use a tool to cause harm. It’s not exposure to ideas that corrupts—it’s the absence of education, reflection, and grounded moral guidance.

Refocus the Law Where It Counts

And yes—our laws need reform too. Instead of punishing people for carrying a tool, we should direct stronger consequences toward actual violence. It’s the act of harm that should carry the greatest legal weight—not the possession tool itself.

Knife crime won’t be solved through fear, bans, or blanket policies. It will be solved when we stop treating knives like sacred objects of danger—and start treating them like what they’ve always been: tools.

About the Author:
I’m a Scout leader and knife skills instructor passionate about outdoor education, real-world skills, and changing the way we talk to young people about tools and responsibility.

If this resonated with you, please share it—or better yet, teach a young person how to safely use a knife today.